Passage of Time
by relativestranger
Summary: A series of interconnected stories delving into the lives of Erza and Gray. Formerly "Untitled."
1. March

So, uh, it's been a while since I've done this. But lately I've been sort of, kind of obsessed with Fairy Tail and got bit by some brain bug that just won't stop making me think thinky things. Since my brain won't leave me in peace, I thought I'd share.

Let's see if I remember how to do this.

This is a series of interconnected stories that takes place over the course of several months four years (it's an arbitrary number. Don't ask why) after the Grand Magic Games/Dragon invasion. However, I started these little fics _before_ I had actually finished the arc so ***spoiler, spoiler, spoiler*** I hadn't gotten up to the part where Ultear does her one minute reset or where Lyon decides to stop pursuing Juvia.**/endspoiler.** And yes, I could have easily edited it to reflect these events but well, lazy. So I'm leaving it as is.

Also, I'm terrible at titles so I'm just leaving this series untitled. Oh, hey, that'll work, right? _Untitled: The Series_.

Boom.

* * *

It never ceased to amuse her that she would find herself here. No matter what, she'd always end up here. She plopped down on the grassy knoll overlooking the riverbank. Hugging her knees to her chest, she stared blankly at the scenery.

Waiting.

"Figured you'd be here," a deep, soothingly familiar voice broke through her thoughts.  
"Are you stalking me?" She quipped, not even glancing at her interloper.  
"If you really thought that, I'd be nothing but bug paste at the bottom of your stylish yet affordable boots." Her lips quirked into a small smile. He always knew how to pull her out of her meandering thoughts. A rustle of fabric and a dull thud let her know that Gray had flopped down next to her.

"What's bothering you?" Gray's eyes were closed, his long lashes dark against his pale skin. And while his tone was light, Erza felt the concern in his words. She shook her head gently, "it's nothing." His eyebrow rose and opened one eye. "I swear, it's nothing," she insisted.

He sighed heavily and sat up. She hated that she had disappointed him in some way. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me, Erza. Just don't lie to me and say that it's nothing because I know better."  
Her chest constricted. She _had_ disappointed him. "I'm sorry."  
"Don't." She spared him a glance, "I don't want you to be sorry. Just... just don't lie."  
She swallowed thickly and promised, "I won't."

Immediate crisis averted, he flopped back down and she joined him. They lied in silence; watching the waning rays dance over the drifting clouds, painting the sky in deep reds and vibrant oranges as twilight approached. Once again, Gray broke through her thoughts, that nagging pit in his stomach just _needing_ to be confirmed. "It's Jellal, isn't it?"  
She froze and sighed in resignation. "I hate that you know me so well."  
"Really? I love it because it bothers you so much." She turned to her side to face him and scowled. "Bug paste," she reminded him.  
He held his hands up and surrendered.

"You don't have to tell me. Just yes or no would suffice."  
She shook her head. She wanted to, no, needed to explain. "I ran into him on this last job. Ultear and Meredy was with him, of course. They said 'hi,' by the way."

Ignoring her attempt to delay the Jellal subject, he prompted, "And...? Did he do something where I have to go hunt him down and pummel him?"  
She chuckled softly, "no. It's just... It's been almost two years since I last saw him. And then... All of a sudden he pops up and there he is all real and there and it's just... strange."  
"You still love him," it wasn't a question or a condemnation. Just a simple statement.

She rolled her shoulders and sighed. "Yes," she confirmed. "But it's not a romantic kind of love. It hasn't been for a while now." It hurt to finally admit that. Not only to Gray, but to herself too. "I mean, I was... In love with him, I mean. But when I think about it, I think I was more in love with what he was; with what I knew of him as a child, with the idea of what I thought he could be; that idealized version I had of him. And yes, he's working on becoming that man. He's trying so hard to," she paused, trying to find the right words, "make amends. To atone. But I don't think it'll ever be enough for him. I don't think he'll ever forgive himself. I know he loves me. I know he wants to be loved by me. But..."  
"He doesn't want to _allow_ himself to be loved by you. Because he doesn't think he deserves it. And because he feels you deserve better," Gray finished quietly.

She nodded sadly. "When did you get so insightful?"  
"Unlike someone we know, I can read people and social cues." Erza arched a delicate eyebrow, "Ultear told you, didn't she?"  
Gray didn't even bother denying it and shrugged his shoulders carelessly, "yeah, we write quite a bit. She's worries about him."  
"I do too. He's so intent on making himself miserable as a way to atone and it just... It makes me sad."  
Gray tilted her chin so she could see the sincerity in his eyes, "he'll figure it out. He'll figure out that misery and redemption doesn't need to go hand in hand. That there is a way he can redeem his past sins and still be happy. And when he does, he'll swoop in on a white horse and the two of you will ride off into the sunset."

She rolled her eyes, "I don't what that, Gray. I'd like that for him though. But it won't be with me. It won't ever be with me. I just want him to be happy. And alive. But ultimately, we have separate lives to live; different paths to follow."  
"I thought you've forgiven him," his brows knitted in confusion.  
"I have," she confirmed. "I forgave him a long time ago. But... But there are some things that can't be forgotten. And yes, I know there were a bunch of... that it wasn't all his doing. That he was another victim of circumstance. But it's still there. I don't think it'll ever go away. And if we were to ever be involved... It would always loom over us. It'll always be this giant pink elephant in the room. We won't ever be able to be honest with each other; constantly watching what we say to each other. He doesn't want to remind me of what he's done and I don't ever want to throw it in his face. He doesn't deserve that. We don't deserve that. I care about him. It might not be the my-heart-aches-for-you kind of love of the past, but I care about him. I don't think I will ever not care about him."

She paused again before shrugging nonchalantly, "besides, he's way too old for me now." A strange sound bubbled from Gray's throat; it was a cross between a snort and a cackle. "If you can joke about that, you're going to be just fine, Erza." He knew the age difference was not even a blimp on the list of reasons for her and Jellal's non-relationship.

He paused for a beat then asked, "does he know how you feel about this?"  
"We've spoken about it. Maybe not in so many words but... It's why he lied about having a fiancée all those years ago."  
"Ah, yes. The good, ole, 'I have a fiancée' excuse. 'Can you help me move? Sorry, I have a fiancée!' Works in any situation!"  
She slapped him lightly but couldn't help but laugh, "don't joke!"  
His smirking smile twisted into a frown, "you're right. What would I know? I'm about as clueless about the matters of the heart as Natsu is."

Erza's smile faltered, "Juvia?"  
Gray did a double take, "what? No. What does Juvia have to do with this?"  
"I just thought... Now that she's no longer pursuing you, you're feeling..."  
"What?" His eyes twinkled in amusement, "sad? Lonely? I'm not. It's been years since she's tried, and I'm perfectly fine with that. I mean, don't get me wrong. Juvia... She's a nice girl. Sweet, beautiful... And I admit, I enjoyed knowing that there was someone who felt that way about me but most of the time, all the attention was just... _uncomfortable_. And more often than not, bordering on creepy."

She remembered. She had been there to lend an ear when he needed it. It had been almost five months since the Grand Magic Games. He had run away when Lyon showed up at the guild and he and Juvia had cornered Gray again. When she found him, she admonished him for not telling her how he felt. He just looked at her with this...stink eye she'd never seen from him and ranted: _"You honestly think I haven't? I've told her time and time again that I'm not interested in her. That I only care about her as nakama would care for one another. That I don't have any romantic inclinations toward her. That while I care for her, I'm not in love with her. Does it ever work? No, of course not. What else am I supposed to do? How could I possibly be any clearer? Get some giant, flashing, neon signs? Take out an ad on Sorcerer's Weekly? Erect a banner on the side of the guild? And then there's Lyon! He's the worse! He can't seem to believe that I'm **not** in love with her so I'm always stuck in between them like monkey in the freaking middle."_

It has been almost three years since Juvia finally accepted that his feelings for her were strictly platonic. But Erza remembered how bad she felt for everyone involved in the lopsided triangle. Still, Erza couldn't help but tease him about it.

"Poor, poor Gray. Having suffered the indignity of having a beautiful woman throw herself at you."  
"That's not the point. I have beautiful women throw themselves at me all the time. But most of them realize that if I'm not interested, they back off."  
She grinned at him in disbelief, "you have women throw themselves at you? All the time?"  
"_Beautiful_ women," he corrected with faux outrage. "And yes. Yes, I do. Women flirt with me and I flirt with them, okay? I mean, I'm not Loke where I ask them home. Not all the time anyway, but yes. I flirt."  
"Taking off your shirt does not count as flirting." She smothered the bubbling giggles at his indignant expression. "Besides, you never flirt with me," she pointed out.  
He spluttered, unsure of how to respond. "I flirt with you plenty! It's not my fault you're so dense!" Her eyes narrowed and he cleared his throat, "I mean, it wasn't that I didn't want to... Or didn't try to," he began to explain. "Believe me, I wanted to. I just didn't think you'd be very receptive of it." He glanced at her, "you... Do you want me to flirt with you?"  
She shrugged and smirked at his obvious discomfort, "I'm not saying yes. But I'm not saying no either."

Silence settled over them as they watched the last rays get swallowed up by the encroaching night. She startled when she felt him grip her hand loosely and began to rub soothing circles on the back of her hand.

When she turned to look at him, he was smiling softly at her. He brushed away the crimson strands that fell across her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. He spoke quietly. "I just wanted you to know... There's someone out there that will love you. That you'll love in return. That will allow himself, or herself if you're so inclined, to be loved by you. The way you deserve. Because if there is one thing you deserve in this world, just **_one_ **thing," he stressed, "it's that."  
Her eyes grew watery but thankfully, her tears didn't fall and she offered him a brave smile, "and then we'll ride off into the sunset on a white horse?"  
His smile grew, "yeah. Exactly."

He stood up and dusted himself off before offering his hand to her, "come on, let's go."  
She allowed him to help her to her feet, "where are we going?"  
"Dinner. I'm starving."  
Erza's brow rose questioningly. "Are you asking me out on a date?"  
He laughed, "a date? Don't be ridiculous. We're just two friends having dinner. Friends do do that, you know. Heh, I said doodoo."  
"How very mature of you." She still looked skeptical so he added, "There may possibly be dessert."  
She brightened, "oh, okay!"  
He spluttered, jaw gaping, "really? That's what it takes to get you to say yes? The possibility of cake? Not the pleasure of being in my company?"  
She couldn't help but tease him, weighing the options carefully, "cake, Gray... Cake, Gray... Yeah, I'm going to go with cake."  
"Unbelievable," he muttered. "What if I were dessert?" He waggled his eyebrows and leered.  
She paused at that, "is that... are you flirting with me?"  
His brows knitted and lips puckered in shame, "I think I was, yeah."  
"Don't."  
"Don't... Don't flirt with you?"  
"I never said that."  
"Okay, I admit, I didn't exactly think that one through but hey, I've never done this flirting thing with you before!"  
She shrugged, "just a suggestion: try harder next time." She tugged his hand. "Now come on. You promised me cake."  
"I did not!"  
She shrugged flippantly, "Well, I'm promising me for you then."  
Although he was smiling, he rolled his eyes and exasperated, "you can't just do something like that, Erza!"  
She looked over her shoulder and grinned, "yes I can."

As they continued bickering into the night, Erza felt freer than she ever felt before. Having a patient, listening ear allowed her to finally work through the feelings of confusion that had been plaguing her the past few days. The anguish and confusion over Jellal were still present but it no longer crushed her; it no longer suffocated her. She understood now. She knew what the extent of her feelings for Jellal were now. And although feelings of longing still linger, it didn't bother her anymore because she knows it doesn't define her. It doesn't rule her. So for the first time in a long time, she allowed herself a little peace.

* * *

Ugh. I don't know how I feel about that ending. I'm terrible at them anyway, but no matter how much I tinker with it, I'm never satisfied with how I sum up her feelings after their little confab.

I give up. Just... read between the lines.

Do the thing where you leave a review. I'd like to know how I'm doing. ;)


	2. April

Aw, thanks for the reviews and feedback. I am positively tickled! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

This is a short one. But hopefully with lots of goodies for you to digest.

Back for round two.

* * *

She sat on the second floor, away from the loud din and rowdiness of the guild. A small stack of paper was neatly piled in front of her and a small, empty plate was off to her side. She was in the middle of re-reading the sentence for the _fourth_ time when he smoothly slid into the bench seat across from her.

"Good evening, gorgeous," his smile was wide and warm. It was contagious and she couldn't help but smile back. He was clearly in a good mood.  
"You've used that one before."  
"Have I?" He stroked his chin as if he were in deep contemplation. "How about stunning then? Beautiful. Oh, exquisite."  
She laughed, "you've used all those before too."  
He shrugged lightly, "well, you can never go wrong with the classics so I'm going back to gorgeous."

Erza shook her head in amusement. He was in a _really_ good mood. "What are you doing cooped up in here? It's a beautiful night! You should go out and make merry."  
"I need to go over the mission details for tomorrow." She quickly glanced at him. "Are you going out tonight?"  
"Of course. It really is a beautiful night."  
"Just make sure you're at the station on time. If you oversleep again..."  
He rolled his eyes, "no worries. I'll be there with bells on." She tried to imagine what that would look like and laughed.

When she looked up again, she sighed in resignation. "Gray, your shirt." He glanced down and his shirt had indeed disappeared.  
"Huh. Well, there it goes." Erza's brows arched in surprise at his unusual reaction. "You're... not freaking out about it?"  
"I'm trying something new."  
"Something _new_?" Her skepticism etched across her face.  
He leaned back and draped his arm over the back of the bench. "Yeah. I mean, it's bound to happen anyway, right? So why freak out? Why fight it? I figured I'd try embracing it." Amused by his new... outlook, she grinned. "So does this mean you're just not going to wear shirts from now on?"  
He laughed loudly and explained that if he did that, the first article of clothing to come off when he does start to unconsciously strip would be his pants. "I don't think people would be as appreciative if I did that."

Erza leaned forward, her elbow on the table and chin resting against her palm. She chewed her lip as she stared at him intently. Suddenly becoming self conscious at the attention, he began to pat himself down. "What? Do I have something on my face?" She shook her head slightly and asked, "Lyon trained with Ur too, didn't he?" He nodded slowly, unsure of what she was getting at. "So why doesn't he have this little stripping habit of yours?"  
Indignant, he bellowed, "he does too! He strips all the time!"  
Amused by his outrage, she decided to poke the bear some more. "I can't seem to recall a single time where he's done it." She thought long and hard, "oh, wait there was... No, wait. No, yeah, that was you..."  
"Well, he does! I'm not weird!" He shouted so loud that she was sure the entire guild had heard his outburst.

She smirked at him. Nope, not weird at all.

He huffed, pouted, folded his arms across his chest, and slouched into the bench like a child in the midst of a tantrum. "Okay, so I _am_ weird. I mean, _duh_. I wouldn't be _here_ if I weren't. But I'm not the only one with a stripping habit!" He rolled his eyes at himself and conceded, "Oh, fine. So Lyon has a better control of... _when_ he strips. He usually does it when he's in battle or training. But it totally still counts!"  
She reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "Yes, yes. Of course it still counts."  
Again, he huffed, and if at all possible, looking even more indignant. "Don't patronize me!" He turned away from her and she had to bite her lip from laughing at how childish he looked at the moment.

"Finally, there you are!" A new voice bellowed from behind her. Gray abandoned his sulking and nodded his greeting.  
"Loke. I was wondering when you'd show."  
"I showed. I showed a long time ago. And I've been looking for you the entire time. We gotta get going." Loke shoved his hands in his pockets. "And put on a shirt. You can't be my wingman without a shirt."  
"Since when do you need a wingman?" Erza questioned equally confused and curious.  
With a shrug, Loke explained, "I don't. But I thought it might be fun just this once. So a shirt, find one. I don't want to blind the ladies with your pale, pasty ass chest."  
"Hey! This happens to be a very nice chest! Right, Erza?"  
Erza looked like a deer caught in headlights before composing herself and calmly replying, "No comment."  
"I think... I think I'm supposed to be... offended?"  
"Yeah, you should definitely be offended. Shirt it," Loke repeated.  
Gray, for what felt like the hundredth time tonight, rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll go find it."

Loke slid into the bench next to Erza as Gray went in search of his missing garment. "What's all this?" He peeked at her files quickly and realized it was the mission details for tomorrow. "Lucy is going too, right?"  
"Along with Natsu and Wendy. And Gray. So make sure he gets home at a reasonable time. If he's late again because of you..."  
He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I did apologize for that, right? I mean, I'm pretty sure I did."  
"You did."  
"I promise to get Cinderella home on time. And don't worry. I also promise to make sure that no one gets too friendly with him. And vice versa."  
"Why would that worry me?" Erza's eyebrow rose questioningly.  
Knowing he was risking all his parts, he shrugged and soldiered on, "I know how close you guys are."  
She shook her head, unsure of _what_ he was getting at but understanding he was implying something he had _no_ business in implying.

She tossed a green ball of fabric at him, "here. Just in case."  
He fiddled with the shirt, "What, you carry extra shirts just for Gray? Why didn't you just give this to him earlier when he needed it?"  
"It was from earlier today. And I forgot."  
"What's from earlier today?" Gray returned, his chest covered once again. "Oh! My shirt!"

Loke stood and shoved the shirt into his hands, "let's go, stripper boy."  
Gray threw his hands up, "why? Why would you call me that?" But Loke was already walking away. He turned to Erza, "Can you believe that guy? What an asshole."  
She smiled knowing that he didn't mean it. "Have fun tonight. And don't be late tomorrow."  
"I promise to get there before you do. And Loke is the one who will be having any kind of fun tonight. I'm just there to twiddle my thumbs. I much rather be here with you," he winked at her playfully.  
She rolled her eyes and playfully shoved his face away from her and laughed, "get out of here, doof!"  
He laughed too, saluting her mockingly and jogged off to catch up with Loke.

Shaking her head, she collected the file. Knowing she wasn't going to be able to finish reviewing the mission details at the guild, she decided to head home. There was a nice, warm bath; some peace and quiet with a glass of wine just waiting for her at home.

* * *

Always remember to click that button and leave a review! ;)


	3. April Take Two

I am endlessly fascinated with Loke and Gray's friendship. Them being close enough that they promised to be partners for the S-Class exam was so out of left field and I very much wish we could see how their friendship came about. In any event, here's some Loke-Gray friendship.

Regretably, this is another short one.

* * *

"What a bust." Loke and Gray laid side by side, hands tucked under their heads, on the lawn in front of Gray's small cottage.  
"Don't look at me. You didn't seem to be very enthused."  
"I know... Is the world ending? Is that what's happening? This has never happened before." Loke glared at Gray. "It was you. I've never had his problem when it was just me on the prowl."  
Gray grunted in irritation, "don't be an ass. They're women; human beings. Not... prey for you chase down."  
"Well, I _am_ a lion," Loke pointed out. A roll of the eyes.

"I'm kidding. I have the utmost respect for women."  
Gray grunted again, "right. That's why you had like ten girlfriends at the same time." Loke's face soured and tsked, "hey, that was a _long_ time ago. And I was just..."  
"Trying to forget. I know. I was just messing. I know you're not a complete asshat."  
Loke growled, "gee, thanks."

The silence stretched. When he couldn't stand it anymore, Loke asked, "so what's up with you and Erza?"  
Gray's face scrunched in confusion. "What do you mean?"  
"What I mean is, the dynamics of your relationship has changed. You've always been close, yes. But there's something... _different_."  
"Different how?"  
"Well for one thing, she didn't punch you for stripping."  
Gray chuckled, "she hasn't punched me for that in a long time. I think she's accepted that it's one of my quirks that can never be corrected. And it only took her 12 years!"

"Does she know?" Loke stared intently at his friend.  
"Know what?" The ice wizard squirmed under the scrutiny.  
"That you have a crush on her."  
Gray bolted up, "I do not!"  
Loke rose as well, "you're really going to sit here and deny it? To _me_ of all people? I mean, it's so damn obvious! I'm surprised _no one else_ has picked up on it!"

Gray picked at the grass and grumbled, "Don't call it a crush... we're not 12 years old for fuck's sake." He then scowled at Loke. "I never should have told you I used to have a crush on her when we were kids."  
Loke pffted, "that's what happens when you drink too much."  
"I'm not drunk now so why would I talk to you about this?"  
"You have to talk to someone about it. Who else are you gonna talk to? Natsu?" They looked at each other for a beat and burst out laughing. Their howling laughter only dying down when their sides began to ache.

They wiped their tears away and deftly returned to the topic at hand. "So, are you gonna tell her?"  
"What's the hurry?"  
"Is it Juvia?"  
"Why does everyone ask that? She has _nothing_ to do with anything. Juvia accepted that I only have platonic feelings for her three years ago. **_Three. Years. Three!_** Stop bringing it up."  
"True. But I still sometimes catch her staring. Or she'd call you Gray-sama before correcting herself."  
"That hasn't happened since Lyon finally won her over. Well, the Gray-sama thing at least. Don't know about the staring."

Loke stroked his chin thoughtfully, "yeah, how'd that happen anyway? Thought Juvia wasn't interested in Lyon."  
"I wouldn't say that. I think some part of her enjoyed the attention and Lyon's doting. And he went the nauseatingly sugary, sweet romantic route. Flowers, chocolate, god awful poetry. And it took even longer for him to win her over than it did for me to convince her that I wasn't interested in having a relationship with her."  
"You know, I never thought that would be possible. How did you manage that? You never told me."  
Gray shrugged, "turns out, it wasn't that difficult. I took her to the park; just away from everything and everyone and just explained that I wasn't interested. I wasn't sure if she was going to believe me. I've tried it before and she always took it as a joke. Guess a little privacy goes a long way. I was nervous as hell though. I didn't want her to get the wrong idea and think I was asking her out on a date or something."

"So then what's stopping you from telling Erza how you feel?"  
"Because I'm still trying to figure it out myself!" He dropped his head, looking annoyed. "I thought I was over that ridiculous crush I had on her when we were kids. I mean, we grew up. And it feels like it was a century ago. But then..." Gray looked at Loke. "I won't get into it, but about a month ago, I came to the realization that I can flirt with her; that I can say certain things without getting punched through a wall. So now all those ridiculous feelings are back; along with several **new ones** that I have to contend with and I'm just trying to... Trying to make sense of it."  
Loke tapped his finger on his chin thoughtfully, "I wonder if I flirt..."  
"Try it and I'll put **_you_ **through a wall," Gray threatened menacingly.  
Loke clicked his tongue. "You know I wasn't serious. Besides, Erza would kill me before you could blink."

Loke pursed his lips in annoyance at his friend. "What's so difficult to figure out? Your feelings clearly extend beyond friendship." His eyes widened, "oh, it's that Jellal fellow, isn't it?"  
"Tch. That's not it at all. I just don't want to rush things. Is that so strange? This is just so new. I... _sort of_ know how I feel but I'm not so sure about her. I mean, sure, she flirts back... Some of the time. But I can't seem to get a read on her. And I don't want to pressure her. Make it feel like she's obligated to like me back. So I'm just going to take my time."  
"Trying to slowly win her over with your '_charms_?' Think it'll work?"  
Gray punched him in his shoulder. Hard. "Don't air quote! I have charms! Shut up."  
Loke rubbed his shoulder and scowled, "I'm going to bruise, jerkface."  
"Why are we even talking about this?! Are we done sharing our feelings?"  
"_I_ didn't get to share anything! It was all _your_ feelings!"  
"Tch. Whatever. I've got a job tomorrow and if I'm late, Erza will remove my head from my shoulders."  
"That would certainly teach you to take your sweet ass time."  
Gray stood and brushed the grass from his pants. "Shut up. Good night. See you later. Shut up."  
Loke grumbled and stood too. "Fine, be that way. You ungrateful prick. Good night."  
The celestial spirit straightened his clothes and disappeared in a bright glow.  
"Show off," Gray muttered and stomped into his cottage while cursing Loke for his nosiness.

And at himself for telling Loke _anything_ in the first place.

* * *

Oof. I apologize for the clunky dialogue... and exposition. I couldn't seem to make it... unclunky.  
But don't let that stop you from being a dear, and feed me with a review. The more I get, the more inclined I am to work on it.


	4. May

The reviews, I thank thee for them! It pleases me greatly for I am but a shallow being seeking adulation.

Re: the comments/questions in the reviews:  
This is no great, long, sweeping, continuous story so some details will be omitted. It'll be up to you to fill in missing details however you wish. Like that particular mission referenced in the previous stories.  
Now, I tend to switch between perspectives quite often. Within the same story no less! But I seem to lean more toward Gray's perspective. For some reason, it's easier for me to write in his perspective. There will be stuff from Erza's perspective, of course. But if the question is whether we get Erza's perspective in concurrence with Gray's (like say, a separate entry into what she was up to while Gray and Loke were having their pow-wow,) that would be a no. I won't be rehashing stories already posted.

Now, onward!

I don't remember how this idea came about but it was kind of hilarious because both Erza and Gray are doofy in it and I hope you enjoy it. And, oh look, it's (currently) the longest entry yet.

And oh my goodness! Did you notice? I gave the damn thing a title! I picked a few words out of a hat and voila! It worked!

Oh, and, uh, rated for mature content. Totally forgot.

Also, I always forget to do this: disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the Fairy Tail world, I just play in its sandbox. I merely 'own' the depraved ideas bouncing in my head.

* * *

Gray was about to to drop off to dream land when he heard his door knob rattle. Sleepily, he dragged himself out of bed and without a second thought to his safety, swung the door open to reveal Erza trying to pick his lock.

He squinted and shielded his eyes from the bright moonlight. "Erza? What are you doing? Do you know what time it is?"  
She pouted glumly, "I couldn't sleep."  
He looked over her confusedly, "you couldn't sleep so you show up at my doorstep in the middle of the night wearing a... bunny costume?"  
She looked at her outfit and groaned, "this is not what I intended to wear. And it's not a costume!" She rubbed her arms and asked, "can I come in? It's kind of cold."  
Snapping out of his sleepy daze, he pulled her in from the cold.

He led her to his couch and draped a blanket over her shivering form. "Now, you wanna explain...this?" He gestured inarticulately at her bundled form.  
"I just really couldn't sleep. I kept tossing and turning."  
"Nightmares?" He asked concerned but she shook her head. "No." She kept fidgeting. She just couldn't seem to sit still; pulling her legs underneath her and then unfolding them again. "I just...couldn't sleep."  
Suddenly, her hand shot out from under the blanket and clutched at him, "**_Mira_**!" She growled.  
"What about her?"  
"I was drinking with her! She must have spiked my drink!"  
Gray looked skeptical, "why would Mira do that? You two haven't feuded in... I've lost track of how many years. And even if you were still feuding, it doesn't sound like something she'd do."  
He was right and she never really thought Mira had anything to do with her current state in the first place. She knew she was grasping for straws.

"What exactly were you drinking?"  
She threw her arms up, "**tea**!" She grinned sheepishly, "oh. That's probably why. _Stupid caffeine_."  
"Okay, so we know _why_ you can't sleep... Do we know why you're in the bunny suit?"  
"Don't call it a bunny suit! You make it sound like Ichiya's cat."  
He smirked, "he's an exceed. And his name is Nichiya."

She snuggled further into the blanket. "Whatever. I was in bed trying to sleep. But I kept tossing and turning. And I couldn't think of anywhere else to go so I thought maybe you'd still be awake." Suddendly, she became distressed and frowned, "but for some reason, I couldn't requip properly. I was trying to requip into my regular clothes..." She spread open the blanket and whined. "But just **look** at me! This is _not_ the outfit I wanted to summon!"  
He smothered his smirk. "Why do you even have that _ridiculous _costume in your armory anyway?"  
Her frown deepened, "do you really think it's ridiculous? Men seem to like it just fine."  
He snorted in amusement, "yeah, I bet. I _suppose_ I get the appeal. I mean, it's, uh, quite...revealing."  
"But?"  
"But, you have a giant cotton ball on your ass. And I generally don't find small, fuzzy balls of fur to be particularly sexy." He said matter-of-factly.

A look of disgust crossed her face.

"When you put it that way..." She shuddered and declared, "that's it. I'm taking this out of rotation. The cat one too."  
He chortled, "there's a _cat_ one? Good grief."  
"Maybe I'll burn them."

His laughter stopped short when he remembered what she said about her troubles with her magic. He rubbed his forehead anxiously, "uh... Erza? About the tea... What kind of tea was it exactly?"  
Her nose scrunched up in concentration. "I'm... not sure. Mira found it in a blue box behind the bar."  
He closed his eyes in dismay. "Was this...tea kind of yellowy, maybe brownish?"  
"Yes. Why?"

He got up and started pacing. "That wasn't tea, Erza! Well, it was. But it was also laced with wolfsbane!" He took a deep breath and explained, "Wolfsbane impairs one's magical abilities. That's why you're having trouble requipping. I confiscated it from the thieves I was tracking on this last job I just got back from. They were using it on wizards in order to get them impaired enough to rob them. I was going to turn it in to Master Makarov in the morning." He took a shaky breath. "Just how much did you drink?"  
She suddenly felt really, really sick and clutched at her stomach. "_Too much_." Her face soured further. "I don't feel too good..."

Gray turned toward the kitchen and filled up a glass of water. Handing her the glass he instructed her to drink. "We need to cleanse it out of your system." He pulled another glass out and filled it with more water. Shoving the second glass into her hands, she asked, "how much do I have to drink?"  
"Until it's out of your system and you're back to normal. Or at least normal-ish."  
"_Normal-ish_?" Her voice shrill with panic. "How long do the effects usually last?"  
"Maybe three, four days? It really depends how much you ingested. But I'm hoping the water will flush it out and you'll recover faster. So just keep drinking."

After the fourth glass of water, she felt the pressure in her bladder building. "I need to pee."  
"Good." He went to his bedroom and fetched some clothes for her. "Here. Go pee and change into this. You can stay here tonight."  
"That is not necessary. I can walk back to the dorm."  
"It's too late and too dark. And with your magic on the fritz, I don't feel comfortable letting you go alone. And I don't feel like putting on clothes so I can walk you home. So, go pee and change."  
"I can just requip, you know," she muttered quietly but he heard her.  
"With your impairment? Requip into what? Your cat costume?"  
She stamped her feet in frustration. "My magic may be wonky, but I can still bug paste you!" She growled at her terrible sentence structure and realized just how fuzzy she was. It was worse than being drunk! She stamped her foot again, "Fine! I'm going!"

After several minutes, she poked her head out and reluctantly called to him. "I need help."  
Leaning at the doorway, he smirked, "what's the matter? You don't remember how to change your clothes?"  
She scowled at his stupid, stupid, strangely seductive, stupid smirk. "That's not it," she gritted through her teeth, "I usually just requip this stupid costume on and off! But now, I can't reach the zipper."  
"Ah, so you admit it's stupid. And a costume."  
"Gray! I swear, if you don't-"

He spun her around and swallowed nervously at the realization of what he was about to do: she was in his home, and even though the outfit itself wasn't exactly a turn on, it was still an obscenely skimpy outfit. And here she was asking for _his_ help in removing said skimpy outfit.

Her stomach felt funny. Like a flip-floppy, fish out of water kind of funny. Was it from the poisoned tea or from Gray's closeness? She thought it was best _not_ to dwell too much on it.

Hours seemingly ticked by with no movement from him. "What's the matter, Gray? Do you not know how to use a zipper? I would think an exhibitionist like you would be an expert at this."  
"_Ha-ha-ha_. You think you're so humorous." He exhaled deeply and reached for the zipper. Tucking his fingers under the top of the outfit, he gently tugged the zipper down with his other hand. His knuckles lightly brushed each centimeter of newly exposed skin as he slowly drew the zipper down. He felt her shiver and briefly wondered if it was because of his touch or merely the chill of his fingers. He hoped for the former but suspected the latter. When he got the zipper halfway down, he stepped away. Clearing his throat, he gently prodded her back into the bathroom. "I think you can take it from here."  
She tilted her head back so she could see his face and smiled shyly. "Thanks." She hurried past the door and quietly closed it.

When she emerged, Gray was laid out on the couch. He directed her to drink another glass of water and nodded to his room. "You can sleep in my bed. The couch is good enough for me."  
She stood over him and pulled him into a sitting position. "May I help you?"  
"I refuse to kick you out of your own bed." Her hands on her hips, her lips stretched in a tight line.  
He smiled up at her. "I see you're feeling more like yourself."

His eyes raked over her form; feeling more at ease now that she was _wearing _clothes instead of asking him to take them _off_. He leaned back against the couch and smirked. "By the way, that," he gestured to her, well, his clothes, "is much, _much_ sexier than little bunny costume of yours."  
She tugged the hem of his shirt lower, suddenly embarrassed that she wasn't wearing anything resembling pants. Which was an usual feeling for her. Erza never got embarrassed; she had no shame. Not in regards to her body at least. And certainly not when she's around Gray. Whatever was happening, she thanked whatever powers that be, that the darkness hid her blush. "Sh-shut up."

Noticing her bare legs, he stood and unconsciously began to to stroke her elbow. "Did the shorts not fit?"  
"Did you really expect it to? I am a girl. And you're a boy. You're kind of bigger than me."  
He tugged her gently, "I may have some shorts from when I was younger."

He led her to his room and rummaged through the bottom of his closet until he found a pair of old gym shorts with drawstrings. Tossing them to her, he straightened out the mess he made. Quickly pulling them on while he was preoccupied, she knotted the drawstrings and noticed his bed.

The bed he had been sleeping on until she rudely woke him. The bed he sleeps on on a nightly basis. Cringing at her attempted breaking and entering earlier, she apologized profusely but he just shook his head and told her not to worry about it. Glancing at his slept in bed again, she suggested that since they were at an impasse: he insisted she take the bed and she stoutly refused to kick him out after her attempt at breaking in, that the bed would be big enough for the both of them.

That's Erza for you: always the practical one.

His own eyes darted to the bed. His resolve for being a gentleman and taking the couch slipping at the beckoning of his really, really comfortable bed. The couch was the single most uncomfortable piece of furniture he owned. It was sunk in and lumpy in some places. He'd been meaning to get a new one but hadn't found the time yet. The prospect of having a warm Erza in his bed didn't hurt either.

"I promise to keep my hands to myself." Erza beamed when he relented.  
"Tch. Then what's the point?" He nudged, letting her know that he was joking. She laughed airily and then yawned. "Looks like the tea part of the poisoned tea is out of your system. Go on. Climb in."  
"I'll try not to toss and turn so much, okay?" She sleepily crawled into his bed, blissfully unaware of the view her actions gave him. He shook out of his reverie when he heard her call his name. He slid under the sheets and lied stiffly on his back.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt her snuggle up next to him. "Sorry I couldn't keep my promise," she mumbled sleepily against his shoulder. He felt his body relax and sink into the mattress. "It's all right. I won't hold it against you."  
"Okay." Her voice a dropping off even more. "Thank you, Gray. For looking out after me."  
He rested his cheek at the top of her head and whispered the promise of _always _before drifting off to sleep himself.

* * *

He woke the next morning pleasantly surprised that the previous night's events weren't some really elaborate dream. Erza really did show up at his doorstep, in a bunny costume of all things. Rubbing the gunk from his sleepy eyes, he gently tried to extract his arm that was trapped underneath her warm body. He was beginning to lose all sensation in that arm and desperately needed to get some blood flow back. He nearly freed his arm when she woke.

Which was the one thing he was trying very hard not to do.

She blinked blearily trying to orient herself.  
"Didn't mean to wake you," a low, clearly-just-woke-up, scratchy voice rumbled next to her. She turned toward the voice. He was smiling sleepily at her.  
"Feeling better?"  
"Enough to know I may have made a fool of myself." She buried her head under the thick blanket. "Did I really try to break in to your home? Wearing that bunny outfit?" Pulling the blanket away, he confirmed those sequence of events. Gleefully.

She mumbled something about him being a jerk for enjoying her clearly out of character behavior but he shrugged it off. He's like Teflon that way; nothing ever sticks to him.*

His face turned serious and asked how her magic was feeling. Erza felt her magic was stronger than it did last night so he suggested that she try requipping.  
...Which was a terrible, horrendous, awful, all around bad idea. He was able to duck _just_ in time and spilled out of bed, hitting the floor with a loud _**THWACK **_as he avoided the flying spear. Erza gaped in abject horror and apologized profusely. Gray popped up from the floor, roaring, "_**no weapons in bed ever again!**_"**

Her mouth snapped shut and eyes widened. Trying to keep her eyes trained on his face, her voice cracked as she rushed out her question, "Gray, does your stripping habit extend to when you're sleeping? Because I may have been loopy, but I'm pretty sure you wore something to bed."

His skin suddenly felt too hot for his body. He fearfully looked down at himself and... Yup. Really-very-completely-without-a-stitch-on-naked. Normally, it wouldn't bother him. As Erza so often liked to say, what's a little nakedness between friends? But to his horror, his morning wood was bobbing menacingly... _At Erza_. It was one thing to be naked and a whole other thing to be naked _and hard_ with the girl you kind of, sort of, maybe like.

Wrenching a pillow, he made a piss poor attempt to cover himself. He swallowed roughly and tried to ignore his current state.  
"As a matter of fact, yes. Yes, it does. Which is why I insisted on staying on the couch. And just so you know... This," he gestured inarticulately at his... pillow covered parts, "is a normal thing- _reaction_ guys have in the morning. I don't want you to think that- that is- what I mean is..." He took a deep breath to gather himself and tried again. "I apologize if I have offended you in some way with my..."  
He trailed off, unable to complete his thought _without_ wanting to punch himself. Picking up his discarded boxers, he quickly tugged it on and informed her that he'll get her some more water and hightailed it out of the room as if the very demons of hell were chasing him.

He dropped her off at the dorm following that morning's..._incident_. Remembering that Mira had ingested the poison too, he asked Erza where her room was and was allowed entrance.  
Just this once.  
Gray knocked on the large wood door and rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited. When the doors opened, a thoroughly disheveled and miserable looking Mira was revealed. He had never seen her in such a state and explained the situation.

She didn't look a tiny bit pleased at being told what had occurred and what to expect. He took a large step back just for safety sake and advised Mira to drink plenty of fluids and to try not to use her magic.

After Mira thanked him (grouchily,) he met up with Erza in the lobby. She tried returning his loaners but he refused to take them back and told her to keep it; telling her that she _looks_ _better in it than I ever did. Or ever will_. They started for the guild together, stupidly teasing each other; her about that morning's 'incident' and him about her wonky misadventures with wolfsbane.

It wasn't until the next morning when her magic was impairment-free.  
Mira on the other hand... Her magic _did_ return to normal but **not** before she destroyed a large chunk of the guild wall from a magically powered (accidental, Mira **_swore_**) sneeze.

The blue tin of tea now sits encased in glass with flashing advisory warnings plastered all around until the magic council could come retrieve it.

* * *

*Unless it's Juvia in her obsessive, Gray-sama phase. Zing!  
**My, my, my. That's awfully presumptuous of you, Gray!

Originally, I was not planning on writing the 'morning-after' bit but then the idea of Erza unintentionally attacking Gray was just too hilarious to leave out. Let that be a lesson to you all: friends don't let friends use magic while poisoned.

You know the drill: my only motivation to continue this are reviews. So, I'm extorting you. You want stories, I demand reviews. Get on it.


	5. June

I meant to update earlier but it was a busy weekend... had a rousing discussion about truth, honor, patriotism.

Re. comments: I like angst as much as the next person, but I prefer not to include that in these entries. The March entry is as angsty as it'll get. So enjoy and embrace the hilarity and non-angst of Erza and Gray. Glad everyone is having fun with this!

My gratitudes for the reviews, silly humans.

* * *

It was the first day of summer. As per tradition, Erza and Gray would go get ice cream at the only hand churned ice cream parlor in Magnolia to celebrate. But they were in the middle of a mission. It was week two of a who-knows-how-long-this-will-take-to-complete-miss ion, so hand churned ice cream was off the menu. Erza was disappointed but she wasn't about to let that get her down. Turning to find a sleeping Gray snoring away in the bed next to her, she rolled out and jumped onto his. He groaned and pulled the blankets with him as he rolled away from her disruption.

Unperturbed, she jumped up and down chanting his name and telling, nay, _demanding_ him to wake up. Grabbing her arm and yanking her down, he rolled her under him. His lips were against her neck and she strained to hear his complaint about how it was too early for her shenanigans.

Startled that she was now trapped under his muscular frame, her body flushed at the feel of his body. True, they had shared a bed before and touched bodies before. But all his weight was on top of her. Intimately. She could feel the hard planes of his chest, the way his ribs expanded and contracted as he breathed against her, the erection pressing against her hip.

She liked this position a little _too_ much. It's been happening a lot lately. And while she had an inkling of what was happening, she preferred to feign ignorance and pretend she didn't. Gray is her friend and she really didn't want to open a can of worms that shouldn't be opened. She shoved aside the tingles currently prickling her suddenly overly sensitive body but still couldn't stop herself from tentatively stroking his bare back. Sighing contently, she reminded him that it's the first day of summer and she wanted to get ice cream. He groaned at having to get out of bed but unconsciously brushed his lips over her bare shoulder and slid off to allow her up.

After demanding him _not_ to fall back asleep while she showered, he got dressed and they left the hotel behind in search of the first-day-of-summer treat. They didn't get very far because Gray started to grumble about being hungry. Abandoning their search temporarily, they found a quiet, little cafe. Gray figured that ice cream for breakfast was probably not the best of plans so they agreed on, "Real food for breakfast, ice cream later."

After breakfast, they resumed their hunt but proved to be fruitless.  
"We're too far up north. Summer here would be considered winter anywhere else."  
"I hate this place. Why isn't it summer like the rest of the world is?"  
Gray stretched against the bench, delighting in the brisk temperature. "It's not too bad."  
When she was still pouting, Gray offered to make her a snow cone. She refused, of course, abhorred with the suggestion of, well, essentially eating his magic. "That is so... _uncouth_."

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. Erza can be so peculiar sometimes. Spying a small, previously unexplored shop at the corner, he instructed Erza to stay put while he investigated. The shop turned out to be a sweets shop. "Erza would have a field day," he muttered to himself. His stride led him to the freezer section and while ice cream seemed to be unavailable, popsicles were in wide abundance. Grabbing a box of strawberry flavored (made with real strawberries!) popsicles, he wandered back to where he left Erza.

By the way her shoulders were slumped and her head down, he could tell that she was still very much dejected. Unwrapping a popsicle for her, he waved the red treat in front of her and watched as her eyes lit up.  
"It's not ice cream. And since you _refuse_ to consume any ice made from my magic, I found the next best thing."  
She took the treat from him and hugged him. Tightly. Too tightly. So tightly that he was having trouble with the most basic of human functions: breathing.  
"Erza... Ribs... Need to breathe." She quickly let go and apologized.  
"Sorry! Sorry."  
"You're happy now, right? No more pouting, sad face?"  
She nodded enthusiastically, "yes. Very. Thank you, Gray."

They sat side by side on the bench, enjoying their summer treats. Even though it didn't _feel_ like summer here, they were content in knowing that their friends back home were enjoying the first day of summer. Even if they weren't there to enjoy it with them.

When Gray looked over at Erza, he nearly choked. Erza was... doing some _really_ vulgar things with that popsicle. Not intentionally vulgar, of course. At least he didn't think it was intentional. But... it was filling his head with all these thoughts and images that he had held at bay for months. But now, he was given enough fantasy material to last a lifetime. And it would be a very short lifetime if Erza ever found out.  
But he couldn't stop staring. At the way her tongue darted out to lick the cool treat. Or the way her lips wrapped around it. Or how it slid smoothly in and out of her mouth.

So enthralled with her, he didn't notice her looking at him. When she realized why he had that glassy look in his eyes, she was equal parts embarrassed and furious. Embarrassed that her totally innocuous actions could elicit such a response and furious that his response caused such embarrassment. She hated the feeling. Needing to kick embarrassment hard in the ass, she toyed with him a little: a few tentative licks here, a gentle suck there, and when his lips parted, she violently **_bit_** off a chunk of the popsicle. She wanted to pump her fist when he cringed and unconsciously moved to protect himself.

"What's wrong, Gray?" She asked with such fake innocence that she was surprised he didn't notice. "Your popsicle is melting." He looked down and lo and behold, it was melting. His fingers grew sticky and sweet from the melty treat. "Do you not like it? It's making such a mess. You're gonna get _really_ sticky."

His brain finally caught up to her... innuendos. He briefly wondered if the whole thing _had_ been intentional; if it had been a show designed to rev him up and then abruptly shut him down. And what a really, really effective way to do that. He shuddered at the memory of what she had done to that poor, poor popsicle. But if that's what she wants, he could do innuendos too. "Oh, I'm sure you can clean me up. Bet you'd do a real good job of it too."

"Oh? I thought you're all grown up now. Didn't need my help with... _cleaning_." The way her tongue rolled over that last word... If his pants weren't tight before, they most certainly are now.  
"It's true that I'm a big boy now," he smirked, anticipating her to remember the morning after the 'bunny costume incident,' "but part of being a big boy is knowing when to ask for help." He leaned toward her, "so, you'll help, right, Erza? You wouldn't leave me floundering, would you?"  
Her smirk was captivating, "wouldn't dream of it." Tossing her finished treat in the rubbish, she nodded her head. "Come on, let's go back to the hotel. Get you all... sparkling clean."

His answering chuckle was one of amusement. There were some false starts and awkwardness but she was getting really good at the whole flirting thing now.

He really, really enjoyed it.

* * *

Before you ask, no. There was no hanky-panky when they got back. They're all talk, no follow-thru. Shakes head.

You know what goes here.


	6. July

I'm glad y'all are enjoying this so much. I've gone through a million re-writes and proofreads that I'm pretty much sick of it now. Even _long_ after I've posted an entry, I still find myself tinkering. Le sigh.

So...you know how I said March was as angsty as it'll get? Well, I lied. I do that. July is has a smidgon of angst but it's not angst-angst, ya know? It's more like others' observation of personal angst. It's not very deep angst is what I'm getting at. Ah, just read it and you'll see what I mean.

Anyhow, here's July. Just lots of good ole Erza and Gray friendship.

* * *

It was week five of this god forsaken mission. It was bitterly cold. Erza was miserable and Gray was far too jubilant. Which made Erza even _more_ miserable. And bitter. Adding to that was the fact that last week, when they arrived at the third town of this northern tour, Gray demanded that she ship all her luggage back to the guild. "Do you really want to be lugging around all that? Through the cold? We don't know how long we're going to be here. In case you haven't noticed, the weather here is different than at home. Keep whatever you absolutely need but ship the rest back!"

**Five. Weeks. **

**_Five weeks!_** With no one else to talk to but each other. They were starting to grate on each others nerves. _She_ wouldn't stop complaining about the cold and how unfair it was that he made her ship her belongings back. _He_ wouldn't stop bitching about how there was never any time to frolic in the snow because they 'were on a mission' and the horrors the chill was inflicting on his skin and hair.

Which predictably led to a loud and unpleasant argument of how if he _hadn't_ made her ship her shit back, she may have had something to help relieve the hellish effects of the bitter cold. And then _that_ prompted another round of arguments of how he should have known better since he's _from the northern continent_. "That was ages ago! I was eight! I didn't worry about shit like that at eight!"

That was not one of their finer days.

They just collected the third artifact and were headed to the fourth destination on their itinerary. "It's going to be even colder here, isn't it?" Her warm breath fogging the train window. "It's the northernmost city... Stands to reason it'll be the coldest city yet. After this, we'll be traveling south again so it'll be warm. Ish." She looked at him in disbelief. "Okay, it won't be as freezing."

Gray looked across from him and saw her drawing silly caricatures of their friends on the window. He leaned forward and pulled the collar of her thick coat higher to protect her from the chill. "You gonna be all right?"  
She sighed heavily, "yeah. Now that we know what we're looking for, hopefully, we will only be here for a few days and can move on."  
"I hope you're right."  
She looked at him, confused. "I thought you were enjoying this weather?"  
He smiled wistfully, "I am. But clearly, you're not. And as entertaining as your misery is," his acerbic sarcasm dripping from his voice, "I prefer a _happy_ Erza over an outright miserable one."

She winced at that. She knew she was being an incredible brat about the whole weather thing. "You know it's just because of the weather, right? I mean, yes, you drive me nuts from time to time but it's the mainly just the weather; it's not the company that's making me all grumpy." Her reassurance was nice but ultimately unneeded, "I know. We've been at this for, what? Going on five weeks now? And we're not even halfway through completing this mission. It's enough to drive anyone batty. But I know while I drive you bonkers; _drive each other bonkers_, I'm not the source of your misery."

Well shit, when did he become so understanding? Promising she would do better, she vowed to quit bitching about the cold. Okay, cut down on it at the very least. She also vowed to stop being so bitter and jealous at how comfortable and at home he was on the northern continent.

"Hey, after we settle down at the hotel, maybe we can walk around town. Explore a little."  
"We?" He questioned curiously. "You'd want to do that?"  
"Why not? We didn't really get to in the last two towns. And aside from that day with the popsicles, we haven't really done anything but stay cooped up in our hotel rooms or scouring for the artifacts."  
His eyes lit up in excitement. "I heard that giant penguin-seals gather to mate not too far from town. I've never actually seen one before. Wanna check it out?"  
She grinned. He probably just wanted to see if he could go sledding with one. "I'd like that."

Thankfully, the hotel was a short walk from the train station. Erza approached the front desk to check them in.  
"Would you like a twin or double room?  
"Double."  
Gray turned to her in surprise. "A double?"  
Every night for the past week, Erza had been climbing into his bed; burrowing into him for warmth. Or he'd find her shivering so he'd climb into hers. They never stayed, of course. They always woke up in their own beds; Erza would always climb back into her bed before the sun rose and he would do the same.  
"It gets very cold when I get out of bed in the middle night. And this is going to be the coldest town yet. The way I figure it, we can just share one bed. We've been doing that all week anyway. And bonus: no getting in and out in the dead of the night. Also bonus: we save some money."  
He shrugged nonchalantly, "if you're sure."

They quickly settled in and as she was finishing up, she noticed Gray bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Did you eat a bowl of sugar or something?"  
"I wanna see the penguin-seals! Are you done yet?"  
"You just want to go penguin-seal sledding."  
He stuttered, "what? No! That's not it at all!" She rose her brow in disbelief. "Okay, so I sort of wanna see if it's possible... But that's it! I have no intention of _actually_ doing that."  
She buttoned her coat; snuggling into the thick, warm material and readied herself to brave the frosty air. "All right. Let's go see these penguin-seals."

Erza was grateful that the penguin-seal colony was a short walk from the hotel. "They weren't kidding when they named them _giant_ penguin-seals were they?"  
He grinned at the majestic creatures. "Think they're friendly?"  
"What, you mean if you go up to one and ask _hey, think I can use you as a sled?_ They'll say _sure, climb on up_?"  
"You think that'll work?" He asked excitedly.  
Erza gawked at him incredulously, "seriously?" She looked out at the penguin-seal colony and smiled at the creatures. They were really cute. She slid down the small hill and approached the closest penguin-seal. She stopped a few feet from it; not wanting to scare or startle it.

"Erza!" Gray whispered harshly. "What are you doing?!"  
"Sh! You're the one that wanted to go penguin sledding. Now, shush."  
"This is madness! I didn't mean it!"

The penguin-seal waddled slowly toward Erza, sniffing the air in the process. Seemingly understanding that Erza meant no harm, the penguin head-butted her stomach playfully. She turned to Gray smiling gleefully.

"Come on! Are you afraid, Gray?" She laughed when she saw that he hadn't moved. "I promise they're friendly!"  
Gray slid down the hill and stopped next to her, "so? Did you ask if we could climb aboard and go sledding?"  
"As much fun as that sounds, I think they're too big to use as a sled." He sighed in disappointment, "yeah, you're probably right." He sat down on the snowy plain and petted the friendly penguin. "They're adorable, aren't they?" The penguin-seal bellowed blissfully at the belly rub Gray was giving it.

Erza glanced around an spotted two smaller penguin-seals. Must not be fully grown, she thought. "Hey. Over there. Think we found our rides." Gray grinned and jumped up; racing over to the two smaller seals and quickly befriending them.

She shook her head in amusement; it's one of those rare occasions when he allows himself to be so boyish. Yes, he oftentimes gets sucked into fights with Natsu and he legitimately enjoys and embraces life. But there's a part of him... That _darkness_ to him that only a handful of people are aware of. The darkness that prevents his joviality from fully taking form; that prevents his smiles to truly reach his eyes except on those rare occasions. She understood that darkness. _Intimately_. She has that darkness herself. But whenever she's with Gray, that darkness recedes and she liked to think that she did the same for his darkness. And currently, his smile said that she was. She was so glad she suggested they explore the town.

She looked curiously at the two juvenile seals. "So how are we to do this?" Gray produced two medium sized fish, "lure them over to that edge with this."  
She smirked at him, "Happy would be so jealous."  
They carefully lured the penguins to the ledge when she stopped him. "Wait, if we go down this, how are we going to get back up?"  
He looked at her like she had grown an extra head. "Erza, it's like you forgot we have _magic_."  
Her brows furrowed, "oh, that's right. I think the cold is getting to me."

She puttered uneasily at the edge. "Hey, are you sure this is okay? Isn't it... I don't know, a little cruel?"  
"This is how they travel. Downhill, anyway. They slide on their bellies. _And_ they look to be getting ready to head out to the ocean to feed. We're just along for the ride."  
She suddenly brightened. "Let's do this!"

He delighted in her excitement and they straddled the animals. They grinned at each other and suddenly, she dropped out of his line of vision. Erza squealed and laughed happily as the penguin slid quickly down the slope. His penguin launched after her and he whooped in joy.

All too soon, the ride was ended when they reached the bottom and the penguin-seal threw him off. He landed not so softly on the packed snow. He groaned lowly as he rubbed at his sore back. When he opened his eyes, he saw her bright face smiling down at him. Her cheeks and nose were red from both the cold and exhilaration and joy from sledding. He couldn't help but smile back at her joyful face.

She pulled him up and groaned at his still aching back. They slowly made their way back to the hotel; laughing along the way. Their hands and arms narrating the ride they took. Erza's cheeks were still rosy from the adrenaline. She didn't notice now cold it was until safely ensconced in the hotel room. Pulling her coat off, she shivered a little. He rubbed her arms and grinned at her pink cheeks and red nose, "did you have fun?"  
She nodded vigorously but suddenly yawned, the adrenaline wearing off.

Urging her to bed, he raised the temperature on the thermostat and turned to the bathroom for a quick shower. When he reemerged, he noticed her gentle smile and grinned that she had enjoyed herself today. All too often she was too serious. She was 23; far too young to be so damn serious all the time. She was vibrant. Beautiful. Passionate. Full of life. And she should be enjoying everything life has to offer and then some.

He scratched his head; a little flustered that there was only one bed in the room. He released the breath he was holding and scolded himself for being such a basket case. This wasn't anything new. It wasn't something they haven't done before.

He slid into bed, carefully so he didn't disturb her but she rolled toward him anyway; as if she were instinctually seeking him out.  
"I had a really good time today," she mumbled; her voice laced with sleep. "But I hope we don't stay here too long."  
He nodded in agreement. "Me too. Even I can feel the chill in my bones."  
"I wish we bought Natsu with us."

His nose scrunched up at the idea of Natsu tagging along on this trip. Five plus weeks of Natsu? He wasn't sure what his limit was but he was pretty sure it was a lot lower than five weeks. "You'd want us to share a bed with Natsu?"  
"Good point. Never mind. The cold is making me talk silly."  
"I've noticed."  
She murmured incoherently but he heard, "good night, Gray."  
"Good night, Erza."

That wish for a few days stay turned out to be an unfortunate three weeks.

* * *

See? Not angst-angst! Not even sure it can be classified as angst.

Ah, penguin sledding. Time to watch _Avatar: The Last Airbender _again. Snow and penguins in July? The north is a strange and mysterious place. Also vast and beautiful.


End file.
